This Week’s #HCWC #WCW: Dr. Mae Jemison

Each week HCWC will spotlight a woman within the Harvard community or beyond whose work and actions we deem to be “crush worthy.” We encourage you to participate in our #WCW via your various social media platforms by sharing the women we honor each week to bring light to their important work.

Who she is: Mae Jemison

Why she’s our #WCW: Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. She holds nine honorary doctorates in engineering, letters and the humanities. After some time working as a physician, she served in the Peace Corps before NASA selected her as a member of their astronaut corps. After her time as an astronaut, she left NASA to form a company researching ways to apply technology to everyday life. Jemison, who is also a dancer, took a poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater along with her on the shuttle flight. “Many people do not see a connection between science and dance, but I consider them both to be expressions of the boundless creativity that people have to share with one another,” she says.

Jemison is an example of a woman in STEM who challenges, motivates, and inspires.